Chapter 32.1 Kill Your Teammate
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Jiang Guan stared at the bonfire, listening to the sound of gunfire, lost in silent contemplation. Resting on her shoulder was Jiang Nan, who had already fallen asleep.
The child was carefree, able to sleep soundly even in such a dangerous place. Perhaps it was because she had someone reliable by her side that she could indulge in deep slumber without any concerns, even snoring away.
“Miss Jiang,” a man’s voice came through, “the map has been completed, and I have prepared several copies…”
Jiang Guan didn’t even turn her head as she continued to ask, “Are there any special items or structures marked on this map?”
“We haven’t found any items yet, but there is a wooden cabin marked as a structure,” the man said. “It’s quite close to the starting point. Additionally, towards the edge of the map… I discovered a sacrificial site with traces of past use.”
“A sacrificial site?” Jiang Guan became interested. “What does it look like?”
“Inside, there were many people’s remains hanging,” the man said. “There were also symbols drawn on the ground, things from the West. I don’t quite understand it,” he said. “I plan to go and take a look.”
“Go ahead,” Jiang Guan said. “Go quickly and stay safe.”
“Alright, Miss Jiang. Are you planning to spend the night here?” The man found it unlike Jiang Guan’s style. He thought she would intensively search for clues.
“Let her sleep for a while,” Jiang Guan said calmly. “The child hasn’t slept for a long time.” She was clearly referring to Jiang Nan, who was sound asleep leaning on her shoulder.
Jiang Guan didn’t think there was anything wrong with her actions. If Zhuang Lao and the others couldn’t withstand the current difficulties, then it could only be said that they deserved to die. They didn’t deserve what she had sacrificed for them.
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In the forest, countless gunshots echoed, turning the otherwise quiet night into a lively spectacle.
Lin Zhaohe fired his gun while observing his surroundings. He clearly remembered the third rule upon entering: “Do not harm it unless you want to become it.” What did “it” refer to in this rule? Obviously, it wasn’t referring to Joseph. Otherwise, his act of shooting alone would have led to a tragedy.
The game wouldn’t present unsolvable puzzles. At the moment, they hadn’t yet figured out the meaning of the rules.
Countless Josephs kept appearing, and as they fell to the gunfire, it resembled scenes from a diary. The rabbits were unwilling to be slaughtered, resisting the butchers with all their might. But did the struggle of prey truly make a difference?
This night wasn’t too difficult for Lin Zhaohe. Although the number of Josephs kept increasing, their intensity remained the same, making the killings relatively straightforward. However, they would respawn shortly after dying, requiring him to kill them again.
They had prepared enough ammunition and were not anxious.
The tense atmosphere began to gradually dissipate, replaced by the rhythmic sound of children’s even breathing… Some of the kids had fallen asleep.
Lin Zhaohe glanced at his watch. There were still two hours until dawn. He yawned, shaking off the drowsiness.
“Want a smoke?” Yun Yuzi offered.
“Hmm…” Lin Zhaohe accepted it, placing it in his mouth. “Is the boss okay? I haven’t heard any sounds outside…”
“Surely nothing’s wrong,” Yun Yuzi said. “What could happen at this intensity?” She fired another shot and added, “Strange…”
Lin Zhaohe asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Something’s off,” Yun Yuzi abruptly stood up from her relaxed position. “Quick, take a look!”
Lin Zhaohe turned his gaze towards the window and noticed that the Joseph that Yun Yuzi had shot at didn’t spray blood as expected. At the same time, a sound like tearing paper echoed abruptly above their heads—someone had found the third page of the diary.
Joseph’s Diary, Page Three.
Rabbits, rabbits, damn rabbits, countless rabbits burying me. They encircle me like relentless spirits.
Flames, flames! The rabbits try to destroy me with fire, but it’s useless, useless. Joseph is invincible!
Ah, it hurts—hurts so much—the back of Joseph’s neck hurts. Damn rabbits have found my weakness. They’ve discovered how to kill me!
It’s here. Mother invited it. Joseph’s best friend, the one who can never die. It will make every rabbit that harms Joseph pay a painful price!!
The man stood in the sacrificial ground, hastily reading the diary. He crudely stuffed the paper into his pocket. Footsteps surrounded him, and he saw countless masked killers holding axes. The murderers were covered in fresh blood, having died an unknown number of times. Just as he obtained this page of the diary, all the corpses came back to life.
They seemed to undergo subtle changes, enveloped in a black mist that concealed and revealed, as if demons had descended upon the mortal realm.
Meanwhile, inside the wooden cabin…
“Something’s wrong,” Yun Yuzi exclaimed in surprise. “The guns aren’t working.”
At the moment the third page of the diary was found, their firearms became useless against the approaching killers.
The ammunition, which should have been immensely destructive, struck the monsters without causing even a scratch. It was as if their attacks vanished into thin air, unable to harm the creatures’ fur or flesh. In a matter of moments, the small wooden cabin was about to be surrounded by a dozen axe-wielding killers.
“Don’t fall asleep!” Yun Yuzi yelled, waking up the nearly drowsy children. “Quick, think of a solution, or we’ll all die here—”
“Wha-what’s happening?” Zhou Ze exclaimed in fear.
“The guns are useless,” Yun Yuzi said. “Is there any other way?”
The group looked at each other, clueless about what to do. Zhou Ze said, “We need to see what’s on the third page of the diary to find out—”
“Of course, I fcking know we need to see the third page!” Yun Yuzi was growing frustrated. “But now someone else has the diary, and we can’t see its contents. Don’t you guys play games often? Aren’t the gameplay mechanics usually similar? Think quickly if there are any similar rules—”
“I’ve played before, I know! As long as we’re not on the last page, Joseph won’t be invincible! Weak points will appear on his body!” a child shouted loudly. “It could also be the forehead. Has anyone else played—”
“I-I’ve encountered it behind the ear once!” another child said. “And, and there was also… somewhere else…”
“Elbow, knee, back of the neck!” Zhou Ze said. “It could be any of those. Joseph can’t be completely invulnerable after the third page of the diary. He has weak points in some specific areas.”
“Damn it, how the hell do we know which one it is?” Yun Yuzi couldn’t help but swear. She looked at Lin Zhaohe. “You hold on for a moment. I’ll go check.”
Saying that, she pulled out a thin stick from her backpack and shook it forcefully, transforming it into a sharp steel blade.
Lin Zhaohe thought to himself, “How the fck am I supposed to hold on?” But he had no other choice. He gritted his teeth, shooting at the approaching monsters while continuously attempting the locations mentioned by the children.
“Not the feet—no reaction at all. It’s not the forehead either. No need to try anymore. Damn it, move aside, I’m throwing a [censored]. Frustratingly completing an escape game turned into an FPS, Lin Zhaohe was in excruciating pain. He regretted retiring and should have just continued working as a security guard.
Yun Yuzi rushed out of the wooden door with the knife in her hand, leaving Zhou Ze dumbfounded. He trembled and said, “Is she okay?”
“Don’t worry,” Lin Zhaohe replied irritably. “If we’re all dead, she won’t be in any danger.”
After all, they were employees under Zhuang Lao, and not many of them were competent. It was likely that they died before completing their probationary period.
Yun Yuzi targeted a nearby monster and charged straight toward it, swiftly evading Joseph’s axe swing. With a needle-like blade in her hand, she stabbed Joseph directly in the forehead, piercing through his brain. But as Lin Zhaohe shouted, the forehead wasn’t the weak point. Yun Yuzi withdrew the blade and swung it backhand, cutting off Joseph’s ear—it wasn’t behind the ear either.
What about the elbow then? Yun Yuzi wondered. She had to be quicker, or the people inside the room would all be buried along with her.
Several Josephs closed in on her as they saw her approach, quickly surrounding Yun Yuzi. She moved agilely like a bird, swiftly slipping out through a narrow gap, evading Josephs’ sluggish attacks. The people inside the room watched as the axe seemingly struck Yun Yuzi’s body, and they couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
Judging from the force with which the axe struck the ground, if Yun Yuzi had been hit, she would likely have died on the spot.
Lin Zhaohe’s hand holding the gun was covered in cold sweat. He dared not lose focus, exerting all his effort to divert the firepower. “The knee and the back of the neck… Sister Yun, try again!”
“Mmm!” Yun Yuzi responded vaguely. She planted her foot on Joseph’s chest and forcefully propelled herself upward, flipping in mid-air and then thrusting toward Joseph’s back of the neck.
Joseph’s movements instantly froze, as if someone had unplugged him. He stood rigidly in place.
“It’s the back of the neck!” Seeing this scene, Lin Zhaohe’s face lit up with joy, and he shouted, “Sister Yun, chop his neck—”
Yun Yuzi: “Alright, you take the children and go first.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Let’s go. We need to leave this place and let her deal with these monsters.”
It was still dark outside, but they couldn’t stay here any longer. Lin Zhaohe held his gun and led the children to quickly leave the wooden house, planning to meet up at the designated location.
They had made an arrangement with Zhuang Lao to meet at the starting point after daybreak. It was just about to get light, so they should arrive just in time. Lin Zhaohe wondered if the others had found Joseph’s weak point. Otherwise, it would certainly be troublesome.
Lin Zhaohe gritted his teeth and thought, the fourth page, where could it be? They needed to pick up the pace!
These monsters weren’t much trouble for Yun Yuzi once she discovered Joseph’s weak point. She effortlessly killed them. Yun Yuzi had initially worried that they might revive, so she waited for a while at the spot. However, her concerns didn’t come true. The Josephs she attacked fatally seemed to have truly died. Their bodies lay stiff on the ground, showing no sign of resurrection.
How could this be? Yun Yuzi sensed something amiss. She felt like she had missed something crucial, but couldn’t grasp the fleeting clue that crossed her mind.
It would be better to rendezvous with Lin Zhaohe first, Yun Yuzi thought. It would be best to see what the third page of the diary actually contained.
Lin Zhaohe was the first to reach the meeting point. The gruesome scene had scared the children so much that they obediently stood beside Lin Zhaohe, resembling pitiful rabbits. Lin Zhaohe gave each of them a weapon and then surveyed the surroundings. Fortunately, he didn’t spot any sign of Joseph nearby.
“Is Sister Yun okay?” Zhou Ze expressed his concern.
“She’ll be fine,” Lin Zhaohe said. “She can handle those numbers.” He glanced at the sky above as a faint dawn light emerged. It would be daylight soon.
“That’s good,” Zhou Ze murmured. After this incident, he would probably stay far away from the game he liked. Some things were indeed better observed from a distance than indulged in.
“Is that Sister Yun?” A sharp-eyed child noticed a figure approaching slowly not far away.
“Seems like it,” Lin Zhaohe replied. “Sister Yun? Is that you?” He hadn’t expected Yun Yuzi to be so swift. From the direction of the wooden house, a person approached with their back to the light. Judging from the figure, it was indeed Yun Yuzi, who had stayed behind earlier. However, as she drew closer, Lin Zhaohe felt something was off…
The person wore a rabbit mask on their face and carried a heavy axe in their hand.
“Is that… Sister Yun?” Everyone was dumbfounded.
From the clothing and hairstyle, it was undeniably Yun Yuzi. Blood from Joseph stained her body, but the slender blade she had previously wielded had transformed into a chilling axe that made one’s scalp tingle.
Lin Zhaohe forced a bitter smile. “Rule number three is in effect…” The previous situation had been too chaotic. Although he had noticed the changes in the monsters, he couldn’t resolve it. Those dozen or so monsters had to be eliminated, otherwise, they had no way of escaping. It was an unsolvable deadlock.
“What?” Zhou Ze’s mind was in disarray.
“Rule 3: Don’t kill him unless you want to become him,” Lin Zhaohe’s smile was more grimace than anything. “How do we fight Sister Yun, who has turned into Joseph?”
The group recalled the agile figure of Yun Yuzi as she slaughtered the monsters, their silence akin to death.
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